Yale
by Muldoon22
Summary: Steve is a freshman at one of the world's most exclusive and prestigious universities. Along the way, he makes some new friends. My first "Avengers in College" fic. Steve/Natasha centric, per usual.
1. Chapter 1

Yale. One of the most prestigious colleges in the world. Steve Rogers parked his car in the student parking lot. It was his first day there, majoring in Medicine, with a Drama fallback.

After graduation from high school, all of his friends went elsewhere, except one. Bucky was going to work with his uncle in North Carolina and Sam was taking an automotive course back home in New York. Maria was also there at Yale, majoring in Medicine.

"You're late." she called as she approached him.

"Clock died during the night." he replied.

"Typical Steve Rogers." she replied. They began walking towards the main hall, where orientation was to begin.

"I talked to Sam last night." Maria said.

"How's he doing?"

"Good. He says your mom is a bit lost without you."

He grimaces slightly. His father died when he was young. Since he didn't have any other siblings, it was just himself and his mom. Now she was alone.

"Sam keeps her company."

"I'll thank him when I speak to him next."

As they walked on, he got a glimpse of a red haired woman walking to the hall. She looked over at him and their eyes met. She smiled.

Steve quickly turned away. He found her attractive, and didn't want to let her see him blush.

They walked into the main hall, where a swarm of new students stood. The redhead disappeared into the crowd, and Steve and Maria kept close.

"Would all students please take a seat." a voice called. Steve immediately found a seat between Maria and a timid looking guy with glasses.

"Nervous? Steve asked. The guy turned to him.

"Uh, a bit. New town, new school."

"I know the feeling. I'm from New York."

"San Francisco."

Steve extended his hand. "Steve. Steve Rogers."

"Bruce Banner."

They returned their attention to the teacher in front of the room, who was detailing the layout of the campus, as well as how choosing Yale is the right thing. Steve looks around the room. Across from him, he spots the redhead again. She was writing down what the teacher was saying, while also idly chatting with a girl near her. He turned away again. There was just something about her that has intrigued him. But it's highly unlikely they would interact. They probably didn't share any classes.

The orientation ended, and it was time to go to their dorms. Steve and Maria were both in York-Crown apartments, obviously separated by gender. They went in different directions after entering the common room and Steve sought out his room. He was waiting to meet his bunk mate.

As he unlocked the door, he saw the room decorated slightly.

"There you are, roomie." a voice said. It belonged to a brown haired man.

"Aren't you-?"

"Tony Stark. Pleasure to meet you."

"Steve Rogers. I would've thought the youngest billionaire alive wouldn't need college."

"I needed something to do. Something to learn. So I enrolled in the Law program. What about you?"

"Medicine and Drama."

"Odd combo, but all the power to you. Maybe we'll become good friends over time."

"Yeah."

Tony looked at his phone. "Gotta go meet a friend. See you later."

The billionaire exited as Steve received a text. It was from Maria.

_I need help with a shelf. _

_On my way._

Steve pocketed his phone and made the journey to the girl side of the dorm. Some males were over there as well, so Steve didn't feel as awkward.

He knocked on her door and waited for it to open. He was taken aback when the redhead opened it.

"Hello." she said.

"Hello. I thought this was Maria Hill's room?"

"It is. She's my roommate. Come in."

Steve entered and walked into the living room, where Maria was busy assembling the shelf.

"There you are. Hold it up for me."

Steve complied and picked the shelf up with ease. He saw from the corner of his eye the redhead admiring his strength.

Maria pulled out a screwdriver and screw in the screws needed to hold the shelf in place. She nodded to indicate she was finished, so Steve let go.

"There. Got to run down to my car and get the books that are going on here. Be right back."

Maria left, leaving Steve alone with the redhead.

"You must come in handy for a girl like Maria."

"I suppose. She probably would've disposed of me a long time ago."

She smiled.

"I'm Natasha. Natasha Romanoff."

"Pleasure to meet you, Natasha. I'm Steve Rogers."

"I saw you earlier."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Was wondering why you didn't come over to say hi."

"You seemed busy. Plus, I didn't want to come off creepy or anything."

"I don't find you creepy."

"That's a relief."

"From what Maria's told me, you're a real charmer back in New York."

Steve slightly blushes. Fortunately Maria returned.

"Alrighty. Thank you, Steve. I'm sure you need to do your own moving in."

Steve nodded and headed for the door. Natasha followed.

"Hold up." she said.

He turned to her. "Yes?"

"Let me see your phone."

Steve obliged and handed the device to her. She punched in her contact information and added it to his contact list.

"There. In case I need your muscles."

Steve lightly chuckled and left, Natasha looking on as he walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

His alarm clock loudly went off. He groaned as he turned it off and pulled the covers off him. Today was his first day of classes and to say he was nervous was an understatement. Maria was in one of his classes, but only Medicine, and Tony wasn't in any of his classes, so anyone could be there in his first Drama.

He went to the bathroom for a quick shower, brush his teeth, and get dressed. As he was towelling off, Tony entered.

"Gah!" Steve exclaimed, quickly throwing a towel around himself. "Um, Tony, maybe you could knock?"

"I just need a minute." the sleepy Tony replied. He lifted the toilet seat.

"Man." Steve said, disgusted.

Tony finished and flushed, walking back out. Steve sighed and finished off.

* * *

He walked to the Drama building, still yawning. It was about 8:30, and it was a struggle to sleep with Tony blaring his AC/DC until 1 in the morning. They were lucky no one called the building supervisor.

He walked into the classroom in time to hear a blonde guy reciting Shakespeare, to the awe of several girls in the room.

"There never be a tale of more woe, than Juliet, and her Romeo."

He spotted a black haired boy roll his eyes. The blonde turned to Steve.

"Ah, fellow Drama mate. It's a pleasure to meet you." he said, extending his hand.

"Hey. I'm Steve."

"You may call me...Thor." he replied with dramatic effect.

"Pleasure to meet you, Thor."

Thor was soon swept away by the females. The black haired boy approached Steve.

"Apologies for my brother. He's a bit too in love with the theatre."

"I can see that."

The boy smirked. "Loki."

"Steve. No offence, but Thor and Loki aren't exactly names I'd call common."

"Our family deeply love Norse mythology. My father renamed himself Odin."

"You sound British. But your brother sounds Australian."

"He was born in Sydney, myself in London."

Steve nodded. A brown haired girl entered the room.

"Excuse me." he said, and with that approached the girl.

Steve scanned the room of classmates, observing them chatting with one another.

"We're in good hands here. Meryl Streep was a student here." a voice said from behind. Steve smiled a bit. He turned to see Natasha there.

"We meet again." he said.

"So we do. Big theatre nut?"

"I'm from New York. Broadway and whatnot."

She smiled. The teacher entered and signalled for them to take a seat. Steve and Natasha immediately sat down next to each other.

"Good afternoon. I'm Professor White. Welcome to this years Drama session. By the time you complete this course, you'll be rewarded with a degree in Fine Arts. Now, to ensure you are in good hands, I want to see if you know some famous alumni here."

Natasha raised her hand. "Meryl Streep."

Professor White nodded. "Yes, that is correct. Three time Oscar winner Meryl Streep walked these very halls. Quite possibly the most famous alumni I taught. Any other names?"

"John Tuturro."

"Paul Giamatti."

"Sigourney Weaver."

"Correct. Most recently, new Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o. But the alumni don't make the course, what makes the course...is a good teacher."

Light chuckles echoed.

"Now, the two main things needed to pass this course are a screenplay written by yourself, and a play made around said play. Miss any one of those, fail. It now it goes. But first things first. It's the first day, we are currently strangers. So, when I call your name, you stand, and say something about yourself. It could be funny, personal, or even embarrassing. So, lets start with Keith Alward."

Steve racked his brain for something to say.

"Brian Cameron."

Shoot, what can I say?

"Peggy Carter."

I am the fastest person in the state of New York. But would that be considered bragging?

"Neil Eaves."

"Lois Joplin."

Maybe I can try to be funny.

"Steve Rogers."

Steve stood up.

"I...I like movies." he quickly sat down.

"Natasha Romanoff."

Natasha stood up.

"I can speak fluent Russian. But I'm from San Francisco." and sat back down. Steve felt embarrassed that he couldn't formulate something more interesting. And he could feel Natasha give him a quick glance.

The lesson wrapped up, and all Steve wanted to do was get out of that room. 12 o'clock, time for lunch. As he walked, he felt an arm snake around his.

"Accompany me for lunch?" Natasha asked.

Steve was a bit lost for words, but went along with her.

* * *

At the cafeteria, Natasha looked at him.

"You naturally shy?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes."

"That's not a good trait for an aspiring actor to have."

"Drama's actually a fallback for me. Majoring in Medicine."

"Medicine? Didn't take you to be a doctor type."

"Well, my dad was one, kinda felt like following in his steps."

"So why take Drama as well?"

"Call it silly, but...I think I've always wanted to be in that world, you know? Acting, or directing, or writing. It just seems like fun."

Natasha smiled. She could see a bit of enthusiasm in his eyes.

"Well, I can't tell you what to do, but I know people are happier doing what makes them happy."

Steve smiled. "Thanks. You know, I just realized that I'm opening up to someone I only met a day ago. I think it's only fair you tell me something about yourself."

"Alright then." she said, taking a sip of her coffee. The pair spent the rest of the lunch hour having a nice conversation.


End file.
